Requisites

This morning’s choice from the library is a recent acquisition I’ve been hunting for since it was reissued as part of The Prestige Mono Series. It’s a swinging Fifties jam session that was originally released in 1957 by The Prestige All-Stars. All Night Long (Prestige PRLP 7073/PRST 7289) brings together a first-class ensemble, Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Jerome Richardson (tracks: A1, B1 to B3) on flute, and (track: A1) on tenor sax, Mal Waldron on piano, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. My copy used in this report is the 2012 Analogue Productions Mono audiophile reissue (APRJ 7073 – PRLP 7073).

Side One opens with Kenny Burrell’s All Night Long occupying the entire side. Art kicks off the song with an infectious beat. Kenny starts the opening solo with exquisite execution. Jerome’s flute flows with a happy feeling on the first of two statements. Hank takes us on a carefree joyride in the next reading, then Donald speaks his peace with a stellar presentation. Jerome resurfaces on tenor for a sparkling performance, and Mal gives a soulful effort on the next interpretation. Art follows with a brief exchange with the principal soloists before the group takes the song out. Side Two starts with the first of two tunes by Hank Mobley, Boo-Lu. Richardson sets the mood of this happy groove on the melody and opening chorus. Burrell, Byrd, Mobley, and Waldron follow with four short solos ahead of the reprise and close.

Flickers by Mal Waldron suggests a homage to the movies. It begins with the ensemble’s collective mid~tempo theme. Jerome is up first and shines with a light-hearted warmth. Donald and Hank follow with one easygoing reading each, then trade a few feisty riffs. Kenny turns in a tasty performance next and Mal applies blues-rooted energy to the finale leading to the closing chorus and Doug’s slow fade into oblivion. Mobley’s Li’l Hankie comes at you at medium speed with the ensemble in unison on the melody. Hank leads off the solos with a marvelous interpretation. Donald delves into the second reading on muted trumpet mining a vein of musical riches. Kenny tells a short story that makes every note count on the third statement. Jerome lights a fuse of creative inspiration on the next performance, followed by a stimulating conversation between the front line, Waldron, and Richardson ahead of the ending theme.

Bob Weinstock supervised the original album and the man behind the dials was Rudy Van Gelder. Kevin Gray did the remastering from the analog tapes. The record has a flat-edge and deep groove on the label like the original release, and the album cover has a high gloss. This reissue was pressed on 200-gram audiophile vinyl by Quality Record Pressings. The soundstage is outstanding, transporting the musicians to your listening room and the record is silent until the music starts. Burrell, Byrd, Watkins, and Taylor also appear on the companion album, All Day Long, recorded just a few days after this date. If you’re a Hard-Bop fan and are looking for an album with superb musicianship, I can’t think of a better choice to introduce you to The Prestige All-Stars than All Night Long! It’s a gorgeous recording that’s highly recommended and well worth adding to your library!

~ All Day Long (Prestige PRLP 7081/PRST 7277) – Source: Discogs.com © 2022 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Rahn Burton was born February 10, 1934 in Louisville, Kentucky. He began taking piano lessons at age 13, and worked locally in Louisville before playing his first gigs with Roland Kirk. He toured with Kirk from 1953 to 1959 and recorded with him into the early 1960s, contributing the composition Jack the Ripper to the 1960 release Introducing Roland Kirk.

Moving on to play local gigs in New York City and Syracuse, New York for a short time in the early 1960s, he returned to local playing in Louisville. During 1964-65 he played organ in George Adams’s touring ensemble, and played briefly with Sirone around the same time.

1967 saw Burton re-joining Roland Kirk’s group, playing with him at the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival and on several recordings through 1973. He also founded his own ensemble, African American Connection, which included Roland Alexander, Bob Cunningham, Ricky Ford, and Hannibal Marvin Peterson.

He recorded extensively as a sideman in the 1970s and 1980s with George Adams and Hannibal Peterson, Carlos Garnett, Beaver Harris, Jemeel Moondoc, Charlie Rouse, Leon Thomas and Stanley Turrentine. His associations in the 1990s included work in Austria with Nicholas Simion and a trio recording in 1992 with Walter Booker and Jimmy Cobb.

Pianist Rahn Burton, who was also known as Ron Burton or William Burton, transitioned on  January 25, 2013 in Manhattan, New York.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Raymond Colignon was born on February 7, 1907 in Liège, Belgium. He initially was active as an accompanist for silent films, then went on to tour Switzerland, France and Algeria. In the early 1930s, he joined the Lucien Hirsch and His Orchestra who made the first recordings for Columbia Records. Between 1931 and 1934 he worked in a nightclub in his native town. From 1935 to 1940 he played and wrote big band arrangements with Fud Candrix.

As a soloist, he recorded under his own name for the Brussels Jazz Club record label. In 1939 he recorded Honeysuckle Rose for Telefunken and Swinging Through the Style, accompanied by bassist Camille Marchand and drummer Armand Dralandts. The early Forties saw him playing in Brussels, Belgium with Jack Lowens and His Swing Quartet, in Berlin, Germany with Kurt Widmann and his dance orchestra, and in Adolf Steimel ‘s Organum dance orchestra.

In 1941/42 further recordings were made in Brussels under his own name, with trumpeter and singer Billy West recording I Hear A Rhapsody and with Tony Jongenelen Gute Nacht, Mutter (Good NIght , Mother) sung in German. In the post World War II period he worked mainly as an organist in the genre of dance and entertainment music, recording Surprise Party – Calling All Dancers or Come Dance with Me for Philips.

Pianist, organist and arranger Coco Colignon, who was involved in 53 jazz recording sessions between 1931 and 1961, transitioned on February 10, 1987 in Wavre, Belgium.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Sam Allen was born in Middleport, Ohio on January 30, 1909 and beginning at the age of seven started playing the piano. By 10 he accompanied silent films on piano in movie theaters, allowing him to sit and extemporize as the action unfolded on screen. Over the next few years he absorbed plenty of slapstick hi-jinx and derring-do from the Hollywood sagas he accompanied.

1928 saw the 19 year old Sam moving to New York City where he joined Herbert Cowans’s band at the Rockland Palace. It wasn’t too long after the move before he moved back to Ohio, where he played with saxophonist Alex Jackson through 1930.

He joined James P. Johnson’s orchestra as a second pianist absorbing the intense chords in the scores that required two pianos. For amuch of the ’30s, he played with the dance band of Teddy Hill including a European tour. In the 1940s he had one of his most musically satisfying collaborations as piano man in the sometimes rowdy combo of violinist Stuff Smith. Playing in the hyper-drive bebop of Dizzy Gillespie, and then the shenanigans as pianist for the madcap jive jazz duo Slim Gaillard & Slam Stewart.

As the Fifties approached he relocated to Washington, shifting gears from touring sideman to stay-at-home featured soloist. He then headed for California where he settled into the Oakland jazz scene, often accompanying the fine singer Billie Heywood. Pianist Sam Allen transitioned at the age of 63 in April 1963.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Aki Takase (高瀬 アキ) was born January 26, 1948 in Osaka, Japan and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music. Starting in 1978, he began performing and recording in the United States.

She has collaborated with Lester Bowie, Sheila Jordan, David Liebman, and John Zorn. Her first European appearance was in 1981 at the Berlin Jazz Festival in Germany. For many years, she has worked with her husband Alexander von Schlippenbach, as well as with Eugene Chadbourne, Han Bennink, Evan Parker, Paul Lovens, Fred Frith and many others, and in duets with Maria João, Louis Sclavis, David Murray and Rudi Mahall.

Through her constant touring and appearances at international jazz festivals, Takase quickly became one of the most sought-after musicians for recording and collaboration. In various projects, Takase has dealt with the respective oeuvres of numerous famous jazz musicians, including the works of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy, W.C. Handy, Fats Waller, and Ornette Coleman.

Pianist and composer Aki Takase, who lives in Berlin, Germany and fuses rap, jazz and improvisation, landing between contemporary and jazz, continues to push the boundaries of her music.

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